By Rick Pluta, Michigan Public Radio Network
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/wkar/local-wkar-911593.mp3
LANSING, MI –
Starting Monday, the state is making $154 million available to help homeowners at risk of foreclosure due to unemployment or a family crisis.
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Michigan got the money from the federal "Hardest Hit" fund because it has one of the highest jobless rates in the nation. The money will be available to homeowners on unemployment, or who have missed a mortgage payment or lost income because of a death or illness in the family, or a change in job status.
The governor says she also wants to offer the assistance to people who've exhausted their unemployment benefits.
"However, this is first-come, first-serve, and it will not allow us to respond to every homeowner who is struggling in Michigan," she says.
The governor says she expects as many as 17,000 homeowners may be helped. But the demand for assistance could be much greater as tens of thousands more Michigan families face the possibility of foreclosure.